2003 Vauxhall VX220 2.2 NA

Summary:

Faults:

General Comments:

I saw a VX220 at the 2002 car show in Birmingham and fell in love. I saved up and bought one the next year.

The car is basically a Lotus with added GM reliability, and has proven very sturdy.

It is not quite so fast as the VX 220 turbo, but handles much better and is plenty quick enough for English roads.

The handling and communication is unimaginably brilliant to anyone not accustomed to racing cars or super cars. 60 MPH feels like 100 in this car, such is the rawness of the drive.

It rides much more comfortably than anybody might imagine, and certainly is not a bad long distance tourer.

Beautiful, fast, wonderful handling and reliable - so what are the downsides?

Well the bodywork is very vulnerable, being fibreglass, and there is zero sound proofing in the car so it is a noisy drive. Such a wonderful car, that I have now owned it ten years from new, and have not driven anything yet that drives better.

7th Jul 2013, 14:09

Original poster here:

Took my VX to the Auto Italia car show in Leicester today. In such lovely weather the VX just can't be criticized: roof off, windows down, steering wheel writhing in the palms, engine thrumming away behind the head.

The ride is far, far better than you might think when cruising on flat-ish roads, and it's pretty comfy.

2000 Vauxhall VX220 2.2

Summary:

Go and buy one!

Faults:

Nothing.

General Comments:

At the time I was thinking about buying this car my heart was saying yes and my head was saying; "are you really really sure about this?". To be honest I wasn't. I'd always loved the look of the car, I knew that it was a brilliant drive, I knew the insurance costs were affordable, I knew that the engine and gearbox were pretty much bulletproof. I also knew that it was hopelessly impractical, things might start falling off it and it might be unreliable. I was also aware that the creature comforts I had been used to in my last car would be replaced by a footbrace and a start button.

So, 1000 miles later, having used the car as daily transport I can report that the heart won out over the head and the head is now convinced that the heart was right all along.

Good points include the noise (Vauxhall Sport Exhaust fitted), which is brilliant. The performance, which is outstanding. It turns heads like nothing else I've ever sat in and the boot is actually big enough for a weekend away with my girlfriend. It doesn't use much petrol. In short, its everything I wanted and more.

The bad points, it is a bit tricky to get in and out of and I can see that this will annoy me more when it gets cold and wet. Err that's it.